Mayor Breed, Supervisor Walton, and SFMTA: Please halt or reroute the Quick Build protected bicycle lane slated for 17th Street between Rhode Island and Mississippi Streets, until a solution is created that addresses the loss of parking and lack of upgraded public transit.

This petition illustrates the existential threat felt by many of the businesses and residents on and around 17th Street regarding the plans currently being drafted by the SFMTA for a protected bike lane down 17th Street, plans that could eliminate over half the parking on the street to create a protected bicycle lane. This neighborhood is a place to bike to not just through. If this project kills the local businesses, then it is just a connector between Dogpatch and the Mission, and undermines a truly wonderful, vibrant, and unique neighborhood.

No one opposes bicycle safety. On the contrary, many signers are bicycle riders. The problem is that the plans do not address the real-world concerns shared by the stakeholders. Alternatives should be debated, and concerns considered.

It is already very difficult to park in this neighborhood, and this plan promises to remove at least half of the existing parking, with no apparent plans to replace it anywhere, in a neighborhood with no parking garages at all and a rapidly rising population created by nearby development. It does not explain how businesses will receive deliveries without the ability to have trucks pull over to deliver on 17th Street or the side streets. In the case of long-standing music venues like Bottom of the Hill and Thee Parkside, it could force bands to load in through protected bike lanes, which we feel will be more dangerous, and not safer, for bicycle riders. The hobbling of local staples of business and culture would in turn do harm to our neighborhood as a whole.

The SFMTA’s own map on bicycle safety in the city speaks volumes. As you can see, they are fixing a safety problem that simply does not exist. We already have double bike lanes here. 

We are not saying no to bicycle safety. We, the business owners, residents, customers, and workers in the affected area, are asking for this process to slow down until those who care about this street the most get a significant voice in the planning. We wish we knew what the exact plans are—there are a lot of variations we’ve seen, none of which address our concerns. The problem is, once the plans are created and approved by the SFMTA, it could be too late to oppose because of the nature of the Vision Zero Quick-Builds. They are designed to be approved and built quickly, and this plan is slated for January of 2023, according to the SFMTA.

Please see more at save17thstreet.org